


Yet Well I Ken The Banks Where Amaranths Blow

by lunar47



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Grief/Mourning, POV Wanda, Realization of Feelings, Teambuilding, Wanda learns to smile, lots of Wanda feelings, lots of staring each other in the eyes, vague spoilers for agents of shield finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-08
Updated: 2015-06-08
Packaged: 2018-04-03 13:04:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4101994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunar47/pseuds/lunar47
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Wanda dreamed and when she dreamed the world was dark and cold. </i>
</p><p>Wanda, once an outsider, learns to trust her new Avenger teammates. And in the process gains the friendship and affection of fellow outsider Vision.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Yet Well I Ken The Banks Where Amaranths Blow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lint](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lint/gifts), [alissabobissa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alissabobissa/gifts).



> Title is from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's _Work Without Hope_ (1825)  
>  Aesop's Fable: partially summarized and quoted from [here](http://mythfolklore.net/aesopica/perry/369.htm)
> 
> Pancakes inspired by [bunnyspek](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3912415/chapters/8757796); because Wanda desperately needs pancakes in her life.
> 
> Details about characters in this story derive mostly from the movies or my imagination as I have tragically not read the comics. Take that as you will.

Wanda dreamed and when she dreamed the world was dark and cold. 

A shadow, swift and light passed by her ear kicking up her hair as if the specter had weight. 

_Pietro._

Her heart beat faster as she followed the shadow through the mist, turning this way and that, playing its games. 

Finally it came to a stop at the edge of a cliff, a chasm with no visible bottom. Somehow it always ended here. Every time, every night she dreamed. 

She inched closer and called out to it. Sure that this time it would be her brother. It led her closer and closer to the edge.

“Pietro!”

She reached out and like always her hands went through the shadow like air. She lost her footing and plummeted into the abyss.

With a jolt she awoke on the floor beside her bed, having tumbled off in her restless sleep. At least this time the room seemed to be in one piece. Sometimes her dreams bled into the real world her telekinesis activating and causing havoc on her meager possessions. 

Wanda looked at the clock, 4:30 A.M. She would have to be up by 6:00 anyways for breakfast and training. Steve Rogers was into group breakfasts and group trainings, group lunches and group outings. She was sick of groups. 

It wasn’t that she was opposed to having teammates. She knew the value in having another person at your side. It was just that it had been her and Pietro all her life. She was so used to working with him that she was having trouble fitting her skills with the other members of the team. 

So she deigned to remain the outsider. Working with the group when necessary but not going above and beyond the call of duty. It was just her way.

She went to shower and change and then wandered the facility. She liked this time in the morning. Rarely any one was awake and those that were, were busy seeing to the running of the building. They had little concern for her.

She made her way outside and stopped short when she saw Vision, or was it The Vision, standing in the grass a ways off. Wanda didn’t exactly want to attract his attention, or anyone else’s really, but he turned towards her before she had a chance to return to the building.

“Ms. Maximoff,” he called out to her.

Politeness dictated that she walk over to him, acknowledge his presence. She wavered, her body already half turned back to the base. Vision took it upon himself to join her instead. 

“Hello,” she greeted him reluctantly. “What are you doing out here?”

“Watching the sunrise.”

“But it’s still dark.” She replied believing that she was stating the obvious.

“I know. I’m cataloguing all the colors. Every stage that that sky goes through as the sun comes up. Would you care to join me?”

“I don’t know.” She shook her head as if she had already decided.

“Maybe next time.” He turned to resume his position, walked a few feet away, then looked back at her. ”I catalogue the sunset as well.”

He moved off and she watched him go. She wandered back inside and found an empty room with some mats. Might as well get some calisthenics in. 

Wanda stretched, her muscles already limber from years of practice. Then she moved into steps that were seemingly familiar yet unfamiliar as well. Romanov had been teaching her ballet. Said it would improve her coordination and stamina in the field. The woman had actually complimented Wanda on her form but said it could use improvement. Wanda didn’t stick with the regimented positions and figures of the dance. Instead she took what she wanted from it and improvised. Used it to make her “magic” work as Sam would say. 

Pietro had called her beautiful when she summoned her powers, weaving it to and fro, its scarlet tendrils ensnaring her enemies. She thought it was practical. This time she didn’t call upon her powers. She just let the movements guide her body. 

She heard a door slam behind her, jarring her concentration, forcing her to stop. She whirled around at the intrusion ready to lay into whichever Avenger dared interrupt her. But it was just a maintenance worker. He explained that he was here to fix a faulty heating line, apologized and asked if he should come back later.

She waved her head and told him she was just leaving. 

Wanda didn’t know why she felt so disappointed. 

 

-*-

 

Breakfast, as usual, was a silent affair. Not to say that it was silent. It was far from that. But it was silent on her part. She sat in between Rhodey and Steve. The names they had requested she called them, said it built comradery or something. And she was across from Vision, who she wasn’t sure really ate. She’d seen him pick at certain foods but he seemed to be above whole meals. But all of this was relative since the table was circular and she had a good view of everyone sitting at it.

The members of their little group were variable. Most of the times it was just Steve, Rhodey, Vision, Natasha, Sam and herself. Other times Clint joined them (she had mixed feelings on this; on the one hand he had convinced her she really could be an Avenger but on the other Pietro had died saving him). Once or twice the man himself, Tony Stark, showed up. She thought he was a puffed up buffoon. But it saved her from having to make conversation when he was in the room. Banner still hadn’t showed in the months since Sokovia and neither had Thor. 

Today it was just the core group. And it was pancakes. She liked pancakes. Hydra never made pancakes. 

“So what about you Wanda?”

She looked up confused. Rhodey had asked her a question apparently. She had been focused on cutting her food into tiny squares. 

“You got a preference for pancake shapes? See I like Mickey Mouse myself.”

“That’s because it’s essentially three pours of batter. One for the face and two for the ears.” Natasha cut in.

Wanda narrowed her eyes,” Mickey…Mouse?”

“You know, Mickey Mouse…Disney…Disneyland.” Rhodey explained, a bit incredulous. Everyone knew Mickey Mouse.

“I’m not ignorant. I know who Mickey Mouse is. We had cartoons on TV. I just didn’t know you made shapes out of your food.”

“Ms. Maximoff the majority of your pancakes are now exactly one square inches. Have you not indeed made shapes out of your food?” 

“Thank you, Vision.” Wanda replied, not really feeling thankful. “I don’t feel hungry after all.”

She started to push her plate away when Steve put a hand out to stop her, preventing the plate from moving any further. “Eat up Wanda. You’re going to need your strength. We’re doing field exercises today. We’re going to see all your training and abilities in action. Closest thing to combat we’re going to get.”

When your Team Captain said to do something you generally did it. So Wanda stopped her sulk and ate. The pancakes were delicious and if she happened to get caught up in Sam’s retelling of how he got his wings she wouldn’t admit it.

 

-*-

 

She felt bad for the poor unfortunate base employees who volunteered to be “enemies” for their morning exercise. Wanda wouldn’t really use her telekinesis abilities on them. At least not to hurt them, only to disarm. Her objective was to distract. To use her other gift to invoke fear; to find their deepest, darkest nightmares and make them living realities inside their minds. 

Wanda had never minded that the Hydra experiments left her with the ability to manipulate objects, to move matter around as if it weighed nothing, to split things apart to their very atoms. It came in handy. But the other thing…the rooting around in people’s heads. It left her feeling queasy these days. She could see how much of a violation it could be. She wondered if her teammates saw the same thing. Or if Steve, her Captain, just saw the benefits to her skills. 

The team had a huddle in the forest before the exercise began. They went over what would happen: facility staff acting as the opposing force would be in play, no live rounds only paint pellets, drones for those wishing to really exercise some of their more creative and destructive maneuvers. 

When they broke apart and the session began it was obvious who worked well in a team and who didn’t. Wanda watched as Steve and Natasha were a well-oiled machine. She could tell that they had fought together before. As Vision and Rhodey could both fly they experimented in coordinating their efforts. Sam provided support. 

Wanda used her telekinesis to take down the first wave of drones coming for the group, ripping them apart one by one. She got a shout of approval from Steve over her earpiece before he went back to issuing commands. Mostly Wanda stayed out of sight. She didn’t have a giant metal suit, couldn’t fly, and couldn’t hold a gun because it interfered with her ability to use her powers. She certainly didn’t feel helpless but she didn’t feel entirely helpful either. 

Once the drones were cleared they were able to advance to where the base employees were positioned. Now she could work. She slipped ahead of the group, weaving through the trees, staying out of sight. Her black skirt whipped around her (she still refused to wear the Avenger “costume” they had designed for her).

She crouched down low using the foliage for cover. Her first victim had his back to her, about 20 feet away. This one was patrolling his post alone. If Pietro was here he’d whisk her to the enemy’s side, she’d do her magic, and then her brother would carry her away. In and out in a matter of seconds. But that option would never be available to her again. 

She’d have to use what Romanov taught her; creep silently, be aware of her surroundings, use distractions if necessary, and don’t get caught. She looked around, left her cover and on light feet approached her man. Her fingers went up to cradle his head and then she was in. 

Sifting through his memories and finding his greatest fear came easily to her. It was like she just had to connect with the person and what she was looking for bubbled up naturally. Like they wanted to be called forth. 

An image: a little girl, 4 years old, dark skin, dark eyes, dark hair…his daughter. Dying in an accident, dying from illness…being murdered. 

Wanda wanted to pull away. It sickened even her. She couldn’t do that to this man, make him live that fear for hours just for a training exercise. So she pulled another memory…his father dying when he was a teenager. It was sudden but parents are supposed to die eventually. He felt helpless and Wanda hoped that helplessness would translate onto the battlefield. 

She pulled away and peered at him in his catatonia, then moved back into the tree line for cover. She would search for her next victim.

 

-*-

 

Enemies came and enemies fell under her fearsome power. Every once in a while she could hear her teammates nattering in her ear until she got frustrated and took the damn communication piece out. 

She was closing in on a group of combatants. This would be difficult for her. She had been mostly picking off the lone gunmen so to speak. The ones that were separated from their unit. She hid behind a group of rocks large enough to conceal her frame and waited.

“Bang! You’re dead.” Came the cold voice of Natasha from near her right ear. Wanda had been so focused on assessing her next target that she hadn’t even noticed the assassin sneaking up on her.

“What the hell is this?” Wanda exclaimed.

“You’re out Maximoff. Call it an object lesson in coordinating with the team. You went out on your own. You didn’t stay in contact.”

“So you followed me?” She was outraged.

“Rogers orders. You’re restricted to the base until the afternoon.”

“I don’t believe this. You want me to use my abilities so I’m using my abilities. Isn’t this what the damn training exercise was for?” Her voice was rising with each sentence. 

“The exercise was also to test your ability to pair your attacks and defenses with the skills of your team members.” Natasha replied calmly.

Anger swelled within her, bright crimson tendrils swirled around her clenched fists. She lashed out and a nearby boulder slammed into a tree. 

“Enough Wanda.”

But Wanda had had enough. Enough of the rules, the responsibility, the meaning of being an Avenger drilled into her day in and day out. She missed Pietro, longed for the days when it was just the two of them against the world. 

She charged Natasha.

And Romanov took her down with an easy turn of her hips and a flip of her arms. 

“Stay!” And Wanda stayed, more shocked than anything. Natasha didn’t have powers to rely on like Wanda did but the assassin was formidable. It had been reckless to pit herself against a full-fledged Avenger when she was emotionally compromised. 

“You have to control that anger Wanda. Find an outlet. Talk to somebody. I’m not saying it has to be me. Let go of whatever it is that’s keeping you from connecting with the rest of us.” Natasha backed up and helped Wanda to stand.

“We need you. And I think you need us. Whether you are willing to admit that or not.” Familiar words. Natasha started to walk away, back to the action, but not before leaving Wanda with a parting remark, “You’re still grounded by the way. We’ll see you for lunch.”

Wanda rolled her eyes and left the forest, her anger spent.

 

-*-

 

She was the first one at the lunch table at noon when the others came strolling in.

Sam approached and sat beside her, “Hey Wanda, what happened to you out there?”

“What do you mean?”

“We missed you at the end. Did your comms go down?”

“Oh, well…not really…” She paused and didn’t know how to continue.

Natasha came to her rescue, “Wanda did good work, but she knows that next time it’s probably better to stick with the rest of us to accomplish the mission. Right?”

“Right,” she repeated dutifully.

Lunch was a spring salad topped with blackened chicken and a side of garlic bread. She had to say she enjoyed all the meals here in America. She remembered as a child with her parents she ate well, as an orphan she ate terribly, and with Hydra she was lucky if it was recognizable. She and Pietro may have been special but they were certainly treated like captives. 

The talk bounced back and forth amongst the table until she decided to speak up, “The food is delicious.”

Everyone stopped and turned to her, surprised that she had decided to enter the conversation.

“What about the food Wanda?” Steve asked, encouraging her to continue.

“I just said that the food is delicious. And there’s always so much of it. With Hydra it was grey reconstituted paste for breakfast, watered down mystery meat stew for lunch. You couldn’t count on a good meal.” She had been gazing at her plate while she talked and when she finally looked up she found that they were all staring at her.

She didn’t want their pity so she switched topics, “Did you know that the chickens in Sokovia are blue?”

She got an unbelieving “What?” and a wave of his hand in denial from Sam.

“Is that really true, Ms. Maximoff?” Vision asked, obviously intrigued.

“No, not really,” She smiled and then laughed. “But Pietro and I once had a baby chick in our apartment. We had found it in this field and brought it home, even though we probably shouldn’t have. You know how sometimes chickens lay blue eggs? I thought they did that because they came from blue chickens. So Pietro took food coloring and dyed the poor thing blue. Except it turned out more green in the end.”

Everyone seemed charmed by her story and even she had to admit it felt good to share a bit of her life with the others.

Steve essentially spoke for the group when he said, “Your brother seemed like an interesting man. He was definitely a stand up individual from what I saw of him.”

“He was.”

“It would have been nice to get to know him.”

The pain of loss was acute. She still felt it deep down. But she could share that with people, if she chose. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

“I still miss him.” And then to assuage the others she said, “But it’s getting better.”

But did she really feel better? Wanda didn’t know. 

Lunch went on, Wanda stayed silent. She paid attention however, enough attention to notice Vision staring at her from over his barely touched food. She met his eyes, stared back, until he looked away. 

Out of all the team members she understood Vision the least. But she had a feeling he might understand her the best. They were both essentially outsiders from mistrusted origins. But could she open up to him like Romanov had suggested? Would he even want to listen to her?

Maybe she’ll ask…later.

The meal concluded and the team got up to leave, each filing out the double doors of the cafeteria. They went off to spend their free period before afternoon exercises doing whatever it is they did to pass the time. 

She was going to go back to her room, put on headphones, and drown out her emotions with loud music. 

As she walked Vision fell into step beside her. “Did you know that the breed of chicken that lays blue eggs is called the Araucana?”

She paused, “No…I didn’t know that.”

“Now you do.”

She continued walking and so did he, matching her step for step. Did he realize that she was going back to her bedroom? Would he follow her that far? 

“So how was the sunrise?” She asked.

“I was able to identify over 40 distinct colors and many different cloud patterns. I want to see if tomorrow will be different.”

“And how did it make you feel?”

“I don’t understand?” He looked perplexed.

“Was the point just to see how many colors you can name? Did you get anything else out of it?”

“For example?”

“I don’t know,” she began and bit her lip in thought. “Sunrises are beautiful. They remind me of the ability to be reborn, to be remade and start things anew.” 

Vision contemplated her answer then turned his head to her in earnest, “I will have to think about this further.” He stopped and placed a hand gently on her arm to stop her from going further. “Thank you Ms. Maximoff for broadening my horizons.”

He was staring so intently down at her that she couldn’t help the slow creeping blush that started in her cheeks and the flutter in her stomach that had been foreign for so long. 

Surprised by her reaction she pulled her arm away, stepped back and retreated to a safer distance…a safer distance emotionally. 

He tilted his head to the side surely appraising her flushed cheeks, her bottom lip caught between her teeth, the way she linked her fingers together in front of her. She wondered what conclusion he would come up with.

“You blush the color of pink amaranths.” He smiled softly then continued, “It’s quite fitting actually.” Vision nodded as if to confirm his findings, “Good day Ms. Maximoff.”

And then he was off, cape flowing behind him. 

 

-*-

 

When she got back to her room she opened her laptop and looked up the definition of an amaranth. Apparently it was a weed. She closed the laptop, more confused than ever. 

 

-*-

 

The afternoon brought target practice with Natasha using a variety of weaponry. She finished by using her telekinesis to work on defensive skills. The assassin could certainly throw a knife, rubber or not, and Wanda had to react quickly. It was actually one of her favorite exercises. 

She learned after her lesson that Rhodey had been called away to D.C. On what grounds she wasn’t made aware. So they continued without him in the large gymnasium. The group began with hand to hand combat practice until Steve pulled her aside.

“So Wanda, ever given any thought to flying?”

“Like in a plane?” She replied sarcastically.

“No…more like you, out there in the air.”

“That’s impossible.” Which it was and Steve was crazy for suggesting otherwise.

“With your telekinesis it may be possible. I’ve been talking to Vision and-“

“You talked to Vision about this?” Wanda asked, her question rushed. Since when had he been talking about her to other people?

“He was the one who suggested it.” Steve replied. “Anyways, I want you to partner up with him. See if you can get it to work.”

Her face must have been giving some very off-putting signals because he then went on to say, “Just try. What’s the harm?” 

“Fine.” She acquiesced. 

Wanda walked over to where Vision was watching Natasha and Sam spar. She watched for a while too before getting up the nerve to ask him about flying.

“So…I hear you want to teach me how to fly.”

He turned to her, “I don’t know exactly if I can do that. I have an idea that hinges on your ability to use telekinesis on air currents. We can make an attempt if you are willing.”

“Sure, why not,” She shrugged.

They moved to the far corner of the gym and faced each other. 

“So how do we do this Vision?”

“Newton’s Third Law of Motion. If you apply enough force in one direction you will be propelled in the opposite direction via an opposing force. In this case you will use your telekinesis to compress the air around you and funnel it beneath you.”

“That sounds complicated.”

“It might be.”

“I’ve never worked on that small of a scale.” She sounded unsure of herself, something that rarely happened when talking about her gifts.

Vision looked around at his surroundings before making a suggestion, “We should try this outside.”

He placed his hand on the small of her back and led her out the door. Wanda was hyperaware of every point of contact between them; from when he removed his hand from her back to when they accidentally bumped elbows as they walked.

He got the door for her as they exited the facility and strolled to an empty field. They faced each other once more and Wanda prepared her hands by her side.

“Maybe you should step back. I don’t know if I’ll be able to control it.”

“You won’t hurt me.”

She looked at him askance and muttered, “Your funeral,” under her breath. Wanda concentrated on compressing the air molecules around her legs. That was step one. Scarlet whisps of power circulated around her wrists and hands. She felt tension in her arms and her chest grew tight with the effort. Now for step two. She focused that compressed air and propelled it away from her. She expected to be soaring off the ground. It had felt like she had put all her energy into forcing the air away from her. Instead all she felt was a gentle lift, maybe an inch or two and then she was back on the ground. She could jump higher than that.

“It worked.” Vision seemed impressed.

“You call that working?”

“It was a start at least. The problem is I think we’re losing too much compressed air to the atmosphere. It takes too much energy on your part to contain it at this point. Maybe with practice it will improve.” 

“Maybe.” She replied sullenly.

“Do you want to try again?”

She thought about it. Flying would give her yet another reason to be an asset to the team. And she wanted to be an asset to the team, didn’t she? Plus working with Vision fulfilled her quota of mandatory teamwork. 

Working with Vision…working alongside Vision. A Vision that confused her by wanting to be near her yet calling her a weed. A Vision that produced honest to god butterflies in her stomach when she thought about him in a certain way. A Vision that she might just be willing to open up to.

“Yes, I’ll try again.”

So she did. Again and again and again. Until she was so exhausted that she had to lean against the synthezoid just to get back to her room when they were finished.

She skipped dinner with the Avengers crew that night. 

And went right to sleep.

 

-*-

 

Wanda dreamed and when she dreamed the world was dark and cold. 

A shadow, so fast, so light on its feet, so graceful passed by her ear. It whipped her hair around her face as if the specter had weight. 

_Pietro._

Her heart beat faster as she followed the shadow through the mist, turning this way and that, playing its games. 

Finally it came to a stop at the edge of a cliff, a chasm so deep she balked at getting closer. Somehow it always ended here. Every time, every night she dreamed. 

But this time the dream was different. She didn’t call out to it, didn’t call out to her brother. For she wasn’t really sure it was her brother. 

She inched closer to the edge for a better look. The shadow took on substance, materialized in front of her and she was staring at her own reflection. Wanda was outfitted in her Avenger suit. She stood tall and proud, the look on her face one of determination and strength. 

She reached out to touch her likeness and just like before her hands went through the specter like air. She lost her footing and plummeted into the abyss.

 

-*-

 

Wanda’s heart pounded as she awoke. She placed her hand gently to her chest and felt the rapid thump against her palm. She breathed in deeply and then exhaled slowly hoping to steady herself.

This time she had luckily stayed in bed. She checked the clock…5:02 AM. 

The dream had been different and she didn’t know what to make of it. All this time she had been chasing herself. Pietro had never entered the equation. 

She rolled over on to her side, her long hair framing her face. In her heart of hearts she knew things had to be different, had to change. And she had to be the one to do it. The Avengers weren’t going to be the ones to do it for her, although their influence was obvious. 

She wouldn’t fail. She wouldn’t give in to her pain and her anger. 

Wanda’s new life would start today. 

She hopped out of bed, dressed, and left her room in 5 minutes flat.

 

-*-

 

Wanda found him outside, like she had hoped, in the same spot as yesterday. She stopped to watch him, eyes turned to the sky, cape flapping gently in the breeze. He looked every bit as an Avenger should, even if there was something otherworldly to him.

Wanda went to him, stopping by his side. Vision turned his head to her and smiled.

Wanda returned the smile, “Mind if I join you? I’m pretty good at naming colors.”

“I’m glad you came. The sky is beginning to lighten. I catalogued the color first as Egyptian blue transitioning into Liberty blue. What do you call it?”

She gazed at the sky, thought for a moment, then spoke, “The blue of my mother’s finest silk dress. The only fancy dress she owned. I saw her wear it once when I was very little. She danced with my father in our kitchen. She was embarrassed, said it was silly. But she did it anyways. It was the only time I saw my parents kiss.” 

“You associate colors with memories?”

“And smells and music, photographs…it’s a part of what makes us human.”

“I don’t know if I work like that.”

“Maybe with time you’ll find out.”

They waited for the sun to peak over the skyline, its yellow brightness still blinding this low in the trees. Orangey-pinks lined the clouds and took over the cerulean expanse. The pink reminded her of the amaranths; reminded her that he had called her a weed. It was suddenly very important that she know his reasoning.

“Why an amaranth? I looked it up. It’s a weed. People call it a pigweed.” Wanda went on jokingly, “How can I not be flattered?”

“Amaranth has a variety of uses. It was highly beneficial to many cultures around the world.”

“So I’m useful.”

“Also, the word amaranth derives from the Greek _amarantos_ meaning unfading. There is a fable about a rose planted near an amaranth. It addressed the rose tree thusly, “What a lovely flower is the Rose, a favorite alike with Gods and with men. I envy you your beauty and your perfume.” The Rose replied, “I indeed dear Amaranth, flourish but for a brief season! If no cruel hand pluck me from my stem, yet I must perish by an early doom. But thou art immortal and dost never fade, but bloomest for ever in renewed youth.”

She gazed at him and saw his keen eyes staring intently into hers. The stone on his forehead shined in the early morning light and his body was relaxed, hands linked behind his back.

He was trying to tell her something, reveal an intimate thought. Did he like her? Think her beautiful? Think she was special? 

She didn’t know if she was ready for it. 

She turned her body slightly away from him and hugged herself, shivering.

“I had a dream.” 

He blinked and cocked his head at the sudden change in conversation.

“I dreamed that I was chasing a shadow. I’ve had this dream many times and I always thought it was Pietro and that one day I would catch him and we would be together again. But last night I saw that the shadow was not my brother…it was me. As an Avenger. I had been chasing myself this whole time. And failing. I fall into this abyss every time.” Wanda paused in her retelling. She turned back to him, “What do you think it means?”

“You’re not failing Ms. Maximoff. You are every bit as capable as the rest of us at becoming an Avenger.”

She paused to consider his words then asked quietly, “Vision? Do you feel like you belong?”

She could see him contemplating that, forming an answer. She hoped it wouldn’t be one just meant to placate her.

“Mostly. I sense that the others see my value. They know the worth of my skills. But they don’t know me as a person.”

“And you want that?”

“Yes.” His answer was simple, his face open and honest. She even saw longing in his expression. “You’re the first person to ask me that.”

Everyone needed someone to connect with. And the fact that Vision wanted that too, and with her, did funny things to her insides. She needed to go slow though. Theirs was a dangerous business and she didn’t think she had it in her to let someone into her heart, only to lose them tragically once again. 

“You can call me Wanda, you know.”

“Wanda.” He tried the name out, his voice soft, his accent curling around the syllables. 

They stayed to watch the rest of the sunrise. She described the colors to him via small tales of her childhood, what she could remember of it. She avoided mentioning anything about her time with Hydra.

 

-*-

 

Steve was waiting for them when they returned to the building.

“There’s trouble down south. Reports from S.H.I.E.L.D. and Rhodey have come in. A group of gifted individuals has been spotted. Normally that’s not a problem but they’re causing mayhem. We need to stop them before anyone gets hurt. S.H.I.E.L.D. has asked us to step in.

Wanda nodded, “We’ll go get ready.”

“Good. Wheels up in thirty.”

She looked towards Vision, her smile tight with a current of anxiety and then departed for her room.

It was in her closest, on a hanger, all this time. Her Avenger uniform, pristine, never used. She would wear it this time. She would feel like an Avenger.

She put it on and left for the hangar bay.

 

-*-

 

The fight was tough, tougher than she thought Steve had been expecting. This gang was organized, they had powers, like her and they fought dirty. 

She dodged a fireball launched from a girl’s palm, swirling around to the side gracefully and used her telekinesis to pull the girl’s feet out from underneath her. She ran forward while the girl was down checking her surroundings for other enemy combatants. Wanda knelt, putting her hands around the powered girl’s head, and drowned herself in her memories. She chose one, a nasty one, and pulled away. The girl put her hands to her throat believing herself incapable of catching her breath. It wouldn’t kill her, just incapacitate her for a while. Which was what they wanted. Steve requested no casualties. The goal was to capture these people alive. 

Wanda looked up to see a large beast of a man barreling towards her. She was a hair slow bringing up her hands to swipe him away when suddenly he was gone. No…she was gone. Picked up by Vision and flying safely away from the enemy. He had been watching her back. Like a teammate. Like a friend. 

He placed her on the ground away from the action and then he began to strategize, “What do you need?”

“We need to take that guy down.” 

The beast was now focusing his attention on Natasha. She moved deftly to avoid him, then shot him with a S.H.I.E.L.D. designed I.C.E.R. but he wouldn’t stop.

“Try to stun him then move me in close. I’ll get in his brain…if it even has one.” Vision closed in on the targeted enemy, used his rays which resulted in the man stumbling to his knees. Vision rushed back to Wanda, picked her up and flew her over to the beast. Crimson strands circled her hands as she delved into his mind. She picked up on a thought, regret…odd. She magnified that pain until it was overwhelming, all consuming. The beast howled and clutched his head. He went down and curled into himself, lost to the world. 

Her gift could be a horrible thing.

 

-*-

 

An hour later and the rest of the gang had been neutralized. S.H.I.E.L.D. swept in and rounded them up for containment. She didn’t know where they would go. She hoped they would get a chance like her. A chance for rehabilitation. Powers didn’t have to be evil. They could be used for good.

The crew was on the plane returning to the base. Rhodey had stayed in D.C. helping with the bureaucratic cleanup. She sat side by side with Vision and across from Steve.

“Good job out there Wanda. You did the group proud.” Steve congratulated. Then he addressed everyone, “That goes for all of you. We’ve been training hard these past few months and that was a tough fight. But you showed that you have what it takes to be leaders. You worked well together. We were a team.”

“I think I kicked butt,” Sam folded his arms across his chest, looking satisfied. 

“Is that why I had to save you from the woman who could shoot lightening from her fingers?” Natasha chimed in from the cockpit as she sat next to the pilot.

“Only if you acknowledge that I helped you out with that guy who could walk through solid objects.”

She laughed lightly and went back to monitoring the instrumentation.

Wanda thought this was nice: the comradery, the friendship, the banter. She didn’t know why she had rejected this before. She turned towards Vision to see if he felt the same way. He moved his head to face her and he looked more human than she had ever seen him before. She smiled at him, this time genuine and without reservation. He smiled back and she didn’t look away.

 

-*-

 

Back at the base they exited the plane, each going their separate ways. But Wanda and Vision stayed together. They walked through the corridors, rather aimlessly at first, then found themselves in the cafeteria. 

Wanda asked for ice cream, once a luxury growing up, and they sat at an empty table. 

“We should do something together.” She suggested, idly running her spoon through the melting chocolate. 

“What did you have in mind?”

“I don’t know? What do people do? Watch movies, take walks, eat things, talk.”

“You are eating something and we are talking. Does this qualify as doing something together?” Vision asked.

“It’s a start, I suppose.” She gazed at him, a smile forming on her lips, a smile that was already coming more readily than it had before.

He agreed, “Yes, it’s a start.”


End file.
